TMMBA Talk

An MBA… makes you happier?

Ally Wewers, TMMBA Program Coordinator

Despite taking a “Philosophy of Happiness” class in my undergraduate years, I definitely would not consider myself an expert on the subject (philosophy OR happiness). But a recent article on Forbes.com caught my attention, claiming that (gasp) happiness is the newest benefit of an MBA degree.

I know what you’re thinking- everyone expects salary raises, increased confidence, or a larger network post-MBA. But an increase in happiness? Not the end-result I imagined.

In the article describing the MBA Happiness Index 2013, the organization MBA50 asked 1,108 participants from business schools around the world to evaluate their happiness levels 12 months before their MBA, during their MBA, and post-MBA. Here are the results:

Though their survey may not be the most scientifically valid study conducted, it still brings to light some interesting data about MBA graduates. With happiness being such a relative term, you do have to take any data with a grain of salt. Beyond the numbers though, it’s intriguing to evaluate why MBA degree holders might report elevated levels of happiness. For this question, I agree with the survey’s authors. They cite that common studies on happiness have come to the consensus that ” ‘meaning’ (or values, or community, or empathy, or engagement with the public good) correlate strongly with peoples’ reported happiness”. So, consequently, people must be finding meaning during and after their MBA. Happiness is different for everyone, and therefore “meaning” is also different for everyone. Maybe one student finds meaning in the Ethics curriculum, and is able to effectively apply it to his/her job. Maybe one student finds meaning in being productive and accomplishing a goal, and receiving a diploma. Maybe another graduate finds meaning in the network and community that they’ve built over the course of their program.

For all you skeptics who say that happiness for MBA grads comes from the higher salary or finally an end to the nights of endless statistics problems, sure- I imagine there’s a bit of truth to that. But the same study also asked respondents which aspect of the MBA program made them happiest. Coming in at #1, was “Self-Development”, with 42.2% of the answers. “Financial Reward” on the other hand, only clocked in with 2.7%.

While I don’t plan on conducting a happiness survey of my own anytime soon, I think it’s definitely a topic worth bringing up in conversations with TMMBA Students. Granted- with less than one month to go til Graduation for the Class of 2013, I’m sure the responses may be a bit skewed….

In conclusion, I’ll close with a quote from my “Philosophy of Happiness” Class (Professor Alfino would be so proud…). Fittingly, it comes from Aristotle, who said “Happiness depends upon ourselves”. In that sense, I think connecting an MBA to a personal journey of self-fulfillment and happiness is quite fitting. Of course we’ll let our students and alums be the judges.

Posted by Ally Wewers - May 15th, 2013 - 0 comments - Permalink

Perspectives from TMMBA

Author: Kengo Baba, TMMBA Class of 2013

TMMBA opened my eyes from the first month of school experience and every month has been a fresh learning opportunity although it can be tough and painful sometimes. We got exposed with a room full of energetic and experienced class mates to share their own perspectives and approaches to solve the problem or generate new idea.

We all knew to some level in our head that everyone sees the same object from different angles and have different opinions. But we do not often get to actually experience the formation of common team’s point of views from various view points from peers as we discuss wide range of business management subjects outside of work environment with a level of hierarchy structure. Some discussions made us looked at other in disbelief of grossly different point of view. Who is right, who is wrong?

When our point of view significantly differs from others, the first reaction is to tie our own historical knowledge data point to justify your view to defend our point of view. But after exchanging and sharing various point of view and opinions from intelligent peers, each of us realize that other peers’ point of views also make sense and they are not necessary wrong. The answer is not right or wrong. “It depends……”

Unlike engineering study where there is clear right or wrong answer, we learned soon learned that most of MBA class answers are “It depends…..”. Depends on what? Well, it depends on so many things that one person cannot cover all angles. One individual may not effectively come up with the best answer from limited point of view of his or her knowledge from historical data point and intuition. Realizing that there are so many ways of looking at the same thing and sharing various views would create refined collective team point of view which covers many more angles of dependencies.

Some of those lengthy and heated discussions that I recall were the greatest learning opportunities that I would remember for a long time, although I may not remember Modigliani and Miller Theorem. TMMBA provided me the practical learning lesson to effectively generate solutions and new ideas from peer’s different perspectives that I cannot possibly come up with by myself.

Posted by tmmba - April 22nd, 2013 - 0 comments - Permalink

TMMBA – A Transformative Experience

Author: Ganesh, Editor-in-chief: Anu, TMMBA Class of 2013

I am passionate about building great technology products. After moving to the US in 2010, I started enquiring about b-schools in the area. TMMBA program stood out because it is fast-paced (18 month program) and the emphasis is on technology management. I signed up to visit couple of classes and after attending a Finance class and a Macroeconomics class, I decided this was the right program for me. However, I was really skeptical about my ability to manage the program and a highly demanding job at Amazon. It didn’t help when a few of the TMMBA alumni confirmed my skepticism. In order to convince myself that I could do it, I came up with a two week challenge for myself – getting a good score on GMAT with only two weeks of preparation. The fact that I am writing this post now might give you an idea whether I met my goal.

My wife, who works for Microsoft, shared similar career aspirations and felt TMMBA was the right program for her. After some thought we decided that it was smart to do the program together. Firstly, expectations were automatically set while we went through the same set of challenges together. One of us was not planning a vacation while the other crammed for an exam Secondly, as the program progressed, we realized that learning was twice as much, mainly because we could discuss our points of view on topics ranging from personal finance to business strategy right at the dinner table. Some people might consider this extreme and they might be right. Our social life during the program was close to nil. Our close friends jokingly comment that we come out of our hibernation only once in 3 months (which is not completely untrue). However by doing the program together, we saved ourselves 18 more months of crazy hours. As our economics professor would put it, there is something to be said for opportunity cost of time.

Based on our first-hand experience, I would highly recommend TMMBA for couples who live and work in the Greater Seattle Area, and are brave enough to attempt it. Almost 17 months into the program, we think our decision to do TMMBA together was spot on. Although it was challenging to juggle personal, professional and student lives, career-wise, both of us are in a much better place.

The MBA program is so well structured that it has enabled me to build a mental map of approaching problems from various angles such as strategy, marketing, sales, accounting, finance, tax, legal and so on. At work, I am now able to contribute at a strategic level because my perspective has broadened significantly through interactions with amazing professors and smart classmates. In my opinion, TMMBA is creating a small but growing group of unique professionals who can analyze every article in the “Wall Street Journal”, talk “Blue Ocean Strategy” and at the same time create innovative technology products. The program has transformed my personal and professional lives forever in ways I never imagined possible!

Posted by Ganesh - April 14th, 2013 - 0 comments - Permalink

Foster Means Business

Author: Kshitij Tambe, TMMBA Class of 2013

I have spent a large chunk of my professional career in engineering/technical roles so it was easy for me to think people in management/business careers as sitting on the ‘wrong’ side of the table. Spending 18 months in TMMBA changed this perspective. It has empowered me with the knowledge and tools needed to ‘cross the table’ and understand how and why particular decisions are made by the people sitting on ‘the now right side’ of the table.

When I decided to pursue my MBA, like any prospective candidate I was looking at several options in the Seattle area. What pulled me towards TMMBA were the following factors:

- Term: 18 months seemed perfect to remain focused while remaining employed.
- Reputation: Foster means business! The leading business school in the northwest meant a lot.
- Faculty: I had heard great reviews about the faculty from several of my friends and from alumni.
- Support Staff: TMMBA staff is amazing. They take care of registration, parking, provide dinners, lunch, breakfast (depending on the class day). All books are taken care of.
- Location: The classes being held on the east-side (close to work and home) meant no long commutes at rush hours.

None of the above would have made any impact if I did not have the support from my wife. As we keep saying at home ‘all of us in the family will graduate on June 3rd’.

Apart from the knowledge about several business topics like Marketing, Finance Accounting, Strategy, Supply chain, Leadership & Economics TMMBA taught me to think like an Entrepreneur. It provided numerous opportunities to network with students from other Foster MBA programs, alumni, business executives and entrepreneurs. Class discussions were of high quality. How people with relatively similar professional background can come up with diverse business strategies was fascinating to learn. TMMBA taught me to look at solutions from perspective of a customer in addition to that of an engineer.

I can go on and on, but in short ‘TMMBA changed my life forever!’

Posted by Kshitij Tambe - April 11th, 2013 - 0 comments - Permalink

Learning the Language of Business

Author: Dylan Rhoads, TMMBA Class of 2013

Growing up, I was fascinated by computers. Through school and as an undergraduate, I took every opportunity to learn about how to control and connect computers, eventually obtaining a degree in computer science. After learning the language of computers, I also became fascinated with foreign languages, eventually becoming proficient enough to obtain a certification in Japanese and combine it with with my technical skills to turn it into a career.
But even with these unique skills, there was a barrier in every company I joined; an invisible wall that held me back from fully participating in the leadership of the organization. This barrier was the language of business — just as subtle and nuanced as other languages, with its own culture and history, a powerful force driving the energies of the world. It was only by learning the language of business at TMMBA that I was able to break down this barrier and truly participate in conversations at my company and in partnerships and negotiations with others.
Combined with my other skills, I now know that the language of business will be with me always, assisting me in my career and in my exploration of the business world. I would recommend the TMMBA program without hesitation to anyone who feels limited in their organization and who would like to expand their global perspective. TMMBA is a truly life-changing experience.

Posted by Dylan Rhoads - April 9th, 2013 - 0 comments - Permalink

TMMBA Program with a New Born

Mike Kennewick, TMMBA Class of 2013

On October 18, 2011 my wife and I were blessed with the birth of our first child. The TMMBA program started in December of 2011. When I started my daughter was just 6 weeks old. Everyone thought that I was crazy. I was.

Ignorance was bliss for a while and then I woke up. Not just in the middle of the night to check on the baby but also to the fact that I had a lot of work to do. Attending a masters program and working full time was no easy task. It was difficult at first but I managed. Over time I was able to get into a rhythm and things became much better. There were several reasons for this:

My Wife. She was on board with the program from the start and really helped pickup the slack when I needed it. It could not have been easy for her.
A great TMMBA team. Each person was committed, reliable and organized. This meant that I could schedule really well. We also reviewed assignment due dates which helped make sure nothing fell through the cracks.
The TMMBA staff. Books were ordered for us, the web portal was up to date and assignment due dates were coordinated between classes to avoid too much overlap.
Flexibility at Work. I wasn’t able to put in the same ridiculous hours I was before but others graciously helped out or stayed late when I had to leave. I also learned to focus on productivity to get more done in less time.
Learning Curve. It is impossible to do everything. Overtime I got much better at identifying the right areas to focus on and where to spend my time to maximize my experience at TMMBA.

Balancing work, school and family was difficult, but also incredibly rewarding. Over the past 15 months I learned many new things that are helping me personally and professionally: what risk is in finance, transformational leadership, and how to give a killer 5 minute pitch. I never would have learned these things otherwise. I’ve also been lucky to have met many incredible people along the way. Each day I am impressed with my classmates for their enthusiasm, the faculty for their unique perspectives and the TMMBA staff for their dedication. With just 12 sessions left I am both relieved and sad that the journey is coming to an end.

So the real question is: Would I do it all over again knowing what I know now? Absolutely! The TMMBA has changed my life forever exceeding all my expectations. What next? Maybe Disneyland.

Posted by Mike Kennewick - April 6th, 2013 - 0 comments - Permalink

It will change your life forever!

Ayman Kaheel, TMMBA Class of 2013

A few years back I met a friend of mine after a long period of not seeing each other. My friend told me he had just finished his TMMBA at UW. “Did you find it useful?” I asked, his answer was “the world is no longer the same”. After my first quarter in the TMMBA, I understood why he said what he said, because the TMMBA student undergoes a mental change with every subject that he studies, such that he will never think the same way again.

I have a strong engineering background both by training and experience. I came to the TMMBA program thinking I will learn some business tools that can help me grow faster in my career, and boy I was wrong! The TMMBA program gives you much much more than some business tools. The TMMBA reminds me of the movie “Vantage Point” that tells a story about an event as seen from a different set of vantage points through the eyes of different characters. In the same way, the TMMBA tells you the story of starting, running, growing and selling a tech-related-business from all different angles.. Each course you study in the TMMBA puts one piece into the puzzle, be it accounting, finance, leadership, economics (both micro and macro), marketing, strategy, entrepreneurship, and list goes on and on.

When people now ask me about the TMMBA program, I say “it’ll change your life forever!”

Posted by Ayman Kaheel - April 6th, 2013 - 0 comments - Permalink

Takeaways from the 2013 International Study Tour

TMMBA Student Anne-Marie Scollay traveled to Dubai and Abu Dhabi this month on our International Study Tour. Below are her takeaways and final thoughts from the trip. Read more about Anne-Marie’s journey on her personal study tour blog: http://outlookvfr.wordpress.com/.

As I begin my journey home to Seattle, I find myself reflecting over the past two weeks in this beautiful and fascinating country. For so many reasons, this trip has been unlike any other international trip that I have taken previously – traveling with classmates, working with a knowledgeable guide, and having access to local businesses that were willing to share their time and transparently share information to a group of MBA students from the USA.

Depending on who you talk to, the UAE has a population of between 8-9 million people, of that only about 1 million are Emirati. What is so compelling about those figures is that the Emirati are the minority in their home country. While protective and proud of their own culture, they also recognize that in order to keep the country running with so many expats that there must be some concessions made. And so, despite the fact that this is an Islamic country, it is possible to drink alcohol, consume pork, and wear what one likes. In return, the expectation is that expats behave respectfully and follow the law (deportation is one very likely outcome for those expats that break the law).

The cities we visited clearly depicted contrasts: haves and have-nots, tradition and modernization, Emerati and expat, religion and commerce, and many more. And yet, somehow, it works here. The national leadership recognizes that to become a global player, the country must maintain both a stable economy and political environment. So while there is turmoil in the region, the UAE has maintained stability and as a result continues to attract expat workers and foreign investment to continue its economic advancement. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are cities under construction – neither of which is standing still. I am certain that in just 6 months the skyline will again look different and that there will be new marvels to behold.

At the close of this trip, I realize that as well-traveled as I had previously considered myself, there is still so much more about the world for me to learn. This trip has expanded my perspective in so many ways – about the world that I live in, my own perspectives and stereotypes, and the critical importance of truly listening and learning from each other. I leave the UAE humbled by how much I have learned in such a short time and hopeful that I will have the opportunity to return again soon.

Posted by tmmba - March 27th, 2013 - 0 comments - Permalink

Students and Alumni Make Key Connections with Employers at TMMBA Career Mixer

Last month the Technology Management MBA Program held its first-ever Career Mixer. You might be familiar with the traditional career or job fair, but this event was different by design to provide an event rich in connections.

A traditional career fair or job fair is structured around employers with a list of open positions and prospective employees passing out a one-size-fits-all resume. Since networking is the number one way to find a great job, there is tremendous benefit in connecting with peers and hiring managers. The TMMBA Mixer was designed to help student and alumni make these key connections with regional employers.

The event was a huge success with a great turnout of students and alumni and a diverse mix of 19 companies. We invited three individuals from each company: a TMMBA alumnus, an HR or Recruiting leader, and another individual from the management/leadership team.

Attendees interested in working for one of the companies now have new connections to reach out to for a conversation and additional information. This tailored approach is highly recommended and focuses on relationship-building.

For those that were not currently looking for a job or change in company, the Mixer was an opportunity to practice introducing themselves to many individuals and build out their professional networks, so it’s ready when they need it.

There are many other career services provided to TMMBA students, including coaching and workshops. Learn more on our website.

Posted by tmmba - March 18th, 2013 - 0 comments - Permalink

Apply by June 1 for Extra Benefits

Tina Bassir, TMMBA Associate Director

There are three great reasons to apply to the TMMBA Program by June 1st. First, we will reduce the $1500 acceptance deposit by 50%. Second, you get to select your class day – choose between the Monday or the Wednesday section. (more about the class schedule) And third, start participating in TMMBA events and activities. From career services to guest speaker events, there are many options to expand your thinking and start building relationships with others in the TMMBA network.

It’s not too early to submit your application – we have already received new applications for the next class. (the next TMMBA class will begin in January 2014 with a week-long program immersion taking place in December 2013) We have a rolling admissions process which means that we begin reviewing your file as soon as we receive your complete application. In most cases, you’ll have an answer from the admissions committee within a month of when your application is complete. So the sooner you apply, the sooner you’ll have a decision. And the sooner you can begin planning for your future as a TMMBA student!

Don’t forget, we are here to help. We host Application Workshops every month, and we’re available to meet for an individual conversation to answer your questions about the admissions process. (View Application Requirements)

Posted by tmmba - March 11th, 2013 - 0 comments - Permalink